Monday, 13 November, 2006

Is the Gita a holy book?

I do not think the Gita should be worshipped as a holy book. What can be accomplished by wrapping it up in a piece of red cloth and anointing it with flowers? That would be a meaningless ritual, to escape from reading it. The Gita can have meaning only if the verses on paper, printed and bound, help to keep us away from any deviation from the right path. Otherwise, the Gita would only be a bundle of lifeless pages, without any real relation to our lives. It is nothing to be happy about, if you have the chapters of the Gita at the tip of your tongue. Sometimes, that too is a matter of vanity. In such a case, there is no difference between the croaking of a frog, and reciting the Gita, if it's message does not impress your heart and soul.

I wonder, are our young men and women interested in reading and understanding the Gita. I find the answer in Teilhard de Chardin's statement, " The future is in the hands of the people who can give enough reasons to hope and live to the coming generations". The Vedas are our invaluable reference books. The Upanishads are our textbooks. The Gita is our guide.

It is a pity that the Gita is considered as a book for the aged. To become old without understanding the Gita, is a loss. After all, what has Krishna got to do with any particular phase of age?

You are 100% right in saying Gita should be worshipped as a holy book. I also agree with your statement "What can be accomplished by wrapping it up in a piece of red cloth and anointing it with flowers?"

GITA SHOULD BE DISCUSSED to help us in day to day lives. After listening to 18 chapters and 600 verses of ADVICE, Arjuna did NOT become a hermit. He did NOT run away from life. He stood up and fought a ferocious war.

I understand people who are in their 80’s leading a hermit’s life. …BUT I can never ever understand, when young people in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s etc lead a very lazy life after reading Gita.

GITA DOES NOT TEACH US INACTION. GITA ONLY TEACHES ACTION and that to SELFLESS ACTIONS.

2 comments:

Namsakar Sir, I am Yogesh Surti from Rander Surat & i am regular reader of your Sunday News paper article.My uncle was always suggested me to read Tahuko - but i could not read properly, now i am reading properly to understand the core matter of Tahuko. till date i didnt completed the whole book. but i learn many things from it.

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Dr. Gunvant B. Shah

Born in Rander (Surat) on March 12, 1937; was educated in Surat and Baroda.

Worked as Lecturer and Reader in the M. S. University of Baroda, Baroda (1961-72); Visiting Professor to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U.S.A.) in the year 1967-68; Professor and Head, Department of Education, Technical Teachers’ Training Institute, Madras (1972-73); Professor of Education S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Bombay (1973-74)